The company Moderna is present today with its mRNA vaccine against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. However, it has just announced the launch of human tests for an HIV vaccine, obviously using the same technology.
In November 2020, Moderna announced a messenger RNA vaccine 94.5% effective against SARS-CoV-2. Over the months, the latter has integrated the vaccination campaigns many countries, along with vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Nevertheless, Moderna is also working on other vaccines of the same type. In July 2021, the company announced the start of the clinical trial for an influenza vaccine.
Moderna will start phase I of a trial for another vaccine, as evidenced by a publication of August 11, 2021 on the ClinicalTrials platform of the United States government. According to the document, there is talk of a vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This first stage will take place over two years and will involve 56 HIV-negative volunteers aged 18 to 50.
If it is also a question of mRNA for this vaccine, it should be remembered that SARS-CoV-2 and HIV do not have the same nature. The first is a coronavirus, a very common family and one that is studied a lot. On the other hand, the second is still an enigma on many points, in particular with regard to its capacity to infect cells and reproduce.
This phase I will therefore take place with a reduced number of volunteers. One of the objectives will be to identify possible side effects. Nevertheless, it will mainly be a question of confirming the effectiveness of the product. In the event of positive results, the study will then move into phase II and include a larger sample of volunteers. Finally, there will possibly be a phase III, the last step before market authorization. Despite criticism from the general public, pharmaceutical companies have been studying mRNA technology for several years. There is great hope about the possibilities of curing or preventing today's incurable diseases such as AIDS.
Obviously, the world is still very far from having an HIV vaccine. Indeed, nothing is certain at the moment and the tests take a considerable time. However, there is hope among AIDS patients, whose number today exceeds 37 million in the world. It is still an incurable disease, although there are treatments to live with it and to avoid transmitting the virus.
